Cannabis media company HERB raises millions to expand to NYC and LA

Canadian cannabis media company HERB closed a $4.1 million seed round
Tuesday in a bid to expand to the US and ramp up production of
video content.

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"This is a monumental moment for HERB and a testament to
the shift of public view on the cannabis industry," Herb CEO Matt
Gray said in a statement.

"As we usher in a new and diverse demographic of cannabis
consumers, investors are seeing the value in the cannabis
industry and importance of having a reliable technology platform
to educate and inform consumers," Gray added.

HERB, based in Toronto, Canada, will use the round to
expand to Los Angeles and New York City, as well as build out new
studios to enhance their offering of video content online.

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The 27-year-old Gray acquired HERB in 2015 - when it was
called The Stoner's Cookbook - and rebranded it as a digital
media company specifically for the cannabis industry, mixing
original how-to videos with hard news and profiles. The company
boasts 5.3 million unique visitors per month, and 2 billion
organic video views annually as of June, according to Tubular
Labs.

Gray previously told Business Insider that he sought to
base HERB's growth strategy around video views like many other
digital publications, as Facebook has pushed publishers to focus
on video.

caption

A participant practices rolling a joint at the Cannabis Carnivalus 4/20 event in Seattle.

"During our research into the cannabis industry, it became
clear to both myself and our team at Liquid 2 Ventures that HERB
was the most professionally run business for relevant,
informative, cannabis content," Montana said in a release
announcing the round.

"There was a void in the marketplace and HERB filled it,"
Eric Hippeau, managing partner of Lerer Hippeau Ventures said.
"Because the market is so new, brands wanted to establish
themselves and reach consumers, and consumers wanted to know more
about sellers, products, legislation, and all other content
related to the cannabis business."

HERB announced the launch of Smoke Sessions, a new weekly
video series earlier in August.